Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally broke his silence on the issue of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and said that 'no citizen of India will have to leave the country'.
Modi also took a dig at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her remarks against the final draft of the Assam NRC. "Those who have lost faith in themselves, fear loss of popular support and lack faith in our institutions, can use words like 'civil war','blood bath' and 'desh ke tukde tukde.' Evidently, they are disconnected from the pulse of the nation," said Modi in an interview to a news agency.
"I want to assure the people that no citizen of India will have to leave the country. As per the due process, all possible opportunities will be given to get their concerns addressed," the prime minister also said.
The NRC revision has rocked Assam since the publication of its final draft on 30 July. Names of over 40 lakh people have been excluded from the draft NRC, which is touted to be a proof of Assamese identity. After the Assam NRC draft was published, West Bengal CM and TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack on the Assam NRC draft.
Many political parties and state governments expressed their willingness to carry out NRC drive in their respective ruling states on Assam line. But Mamata Banerjee was against the idea. On Saturday BJP President Amit Shah in a rally in Kolkata announced that NRC preparation exercise would be carried out in West Bengal too.
